Ödeshög Municipality

Ödeshög Municipality
Ödeshögs kommun
Municipality

Coat of arms
Country Sweden
County Östergötland County
Seat Ödeshög
Area[1]
  Total 668.99 km2 (258.30 sq mi)
  Land 430.42 km2 (166.19 sq mi)
  Water 238.57 km2 (92.11 sq mi)
  Area as of January 1, 2014.
Population (March 31, 2015)[2]
  Total 5,225
  Density 7.8/km2 (20/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code SE
Province Östergötland
Municipal code 0509
Website www.odeshog.se

Ödeshög Municipality (Ödeshögs kommun) is a municipality in Östergötland County, Sweden. The seat is situated in the small town of Ödeshög.

The coat of arms was created in 1972 at the time the modern municipalities of Sweden were created. It mainly represents the medieval monastery of Alvastra: An abbacy staff, a rising moon (historically representing the Virgin Mary), and a six-pointed star (representing a higher deity).

Nature

A large part of the municipality borders lake Vättern. There is a small harbour.

There are two nature reserves within the municipal borders: Isberga with a distinguished steppe meadow flora , and Kråkeryd located on rocks above Vättern at 60 meters altitude. Kråkeryd has a geology rich in lime, and the uncultivated rocky terrain is the location for several unusual flowers and plants .

Localities

There are two urban areas (also called a Tätort or locality) in Ödeshög Municipality.

In the table the localities are listed according to the size of the population as of December 31, 2005. The municipal seat is in bold characters.

# Locality Population
1 Ödeshög 2,651
2 Hästholmen 372

Sights

Within the borders of the municipalities lies the monastery of Alvastra. One of the world's most famous runestones, the Rök Runestone, is also situated within the municipal borders.

There are also other ancient remains: the two hillforts Borgberget and Hjässaborgen. Both are open for visits although not much remains, and both are somewhat difficult to access. The municipality also contains burial grounds, etc.

Besides the monastery of Alvastra, there are seven other notable churches, several of which have a medieval foundation. Noteworthy are: Rök Church from 1845 (outside which stands the Rök Runestone), Stora Åby Church, from the 1750s, with several older artifacts (baptismal font, triptych), and Ödeshögs Church with a medieval foundation.

Famous citizens

References

External links

Coordinates: 58°13′N 14°39′E / 58.217°N 14.650°E / 58.217; 14.650

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, October 13, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.